Robin Resnick is the director of operations for Beth Chaim Reform Congregation in Malvern. She has a hand in most everything that goes on at the temple, which is funny considering that there was a gap in her membership not too long ago. That time away showed Resnick that Beth Chaim is the right place for her.
“I was so active when I was a member and my kids were in religious school, and then I was the only one in my family who was interested in being affiliated, so we stopped going,” she said. “A friend of mine was on the board, and I was still friendly with other people here, so I applied for this job. I had been a stay-at-home mom for many years, and this brought me back into the working world.”
Resnick took over as director in 2017 and has been in charge of Beth Chaim’s resurgence since then. She said a lot of the credit goes to Rabbi Michelle Pearlman, who brings a unique atmosphere to the synagogue. In fact, during a recent survey of the congregants, it was revealed just how important Pearlman is.
“In this survey, I would say half of the people that responded [joined] for Michelle Perlman. She is a phenomenal rabbi, and if you have heard her sermons, she combines things that you would never even think could go together,” Resnick said. “She is understanding, she’s caring and she really draws people in. I have never met another person like her, so I think she certainly attracts a lot of people who, once they join, find they have a community.”
Pearlman’s story is an atypical one. She was originally trained as an opera singer, but said that her true passion lay in Judaism.
“My lifestyle wasn’t suited for opera — in opera you have to love it more than you love anything else,” she said. “And I loved Judaism and I loved community [more].”
One of the chief angles of Beth Chaim’s approach to Judaism is an emphasis on social justice, Resnick explained.
“It’s a very, very big part of Beth Chaim. We have a social justice committee, and it is very active. I think one of the tenets of Reform Judaism is social justice and fighting for everyone, and our rabbi is very social-justice oriented, which comes out in her sermons and her actions,” she said.
Pearlman said that the group has worked with local and national organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and Ceasefire PA, as well as advocated for voter empowerment, gun control and freedom of speech. They host events and attend others. The group is currently doing a postcard writing campaign and they host podcasts discussions every month or two.
Resnick said that more than a few congregants have told her that they chose Beth Chaim over other area reform congregations because of the synagogue’s work with social justice. Pearlman said that this weekend’s services are a perfect example of how the social justice work intertwines with worship at Beth Chaim.
“This year, the social justice committee is doing a whole service around the fragility of how justice is pursued in our society as it relates to the themes of Sukkot,” she said. “It’s going to be beautiful, and it’s also a gift to me because somebody else will be writing the sermon!”
Beth Chaim has worked hard to cultivate an open environment that welcomes Jews of all backgrounds, races, denominations and lifestyles. Resnick said that the synagogue’s tagline is “Your Jewish Neighborhood.”
“People here really form connections — every synagogue says that they’re warm and welcoming, but this is one of the few places that I have ever gone where they really, really are,” Resnick said. “You cannot walk in the building here without somebody approaching you. I have seen so many people become family, because it’s a really unbelievable place.”
Perhaps nothing exemplifies this more than the synagogue’s High Holiday operations. There are about 225 families who belong to Beth Chaim, but the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services draw many more than that, Resnick explained.
“One of the things I am most proud of is that we open our doors for the High Holidays to everybody. You don’t need to be a member. We don’t charge for tickets. We welcome anybody who wants to attend,” she said. “So while we may only be on the smaller side with 225 families, we had between 350 and 400 people in person for our services, with more on Zoom.”
The synagogue brings families from all over Chester County and beyond. Resnick said that this allows people who might never meet naturally to mesh in a mutually comfortable space. As someone who grew up in the city of Philadelphia in a largely insular Jewish community, she said she appreciates the unique makeup at Beth Chaim. While some synagogues see congregants live, worship, work and play all in the same neighborhood, Beth Chaim offers a geographic diversity that links otherwise disconnected Jews.
Pearlman said she thinks that the unique makeup of the synagogue creates strong ties.
“One of the reasons Beth Chaim is so special is that people travel from miles around to be here. Some people come from Reading, Wyomissing, Lower Merion, Wayne, Broomall, even Delaware,” she said. “Because we’re the only reform synagogue in Chester County, it’s a destination for folks. And oftentimes, our children are one of the few Jewish children in their schools, so they really need that community that we work so hard to develop.”
